Heartbreaker
by superkicking
Summary: Taking place in 1996, "Heartbreaker" is the story of one of WWF's biggest stars, The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels, and a new diva that captures his eye, and then his heart. But once-smooth waters turn rocky when various obstacles get in the way.
1. Chapter 1

Heartbreaker  
Winter of 1996

She took a deep breath. It was time.

She was waiting in her car, in the parking lot of the Raw arena. It was her first day in the big leagues. She had been eagerly awaiting an oppurtunity to prove herself, to prove that she was the best female wrestler of her  
generation. But now that it had come, she couldn't even bring herself to get out of her damn car.

She pushed out of her car and into the cold February wind. All the stalling hadn't cost her at all, since she arrived at the arena and hour before she even needed to be. She'd wanted a chance to break in, to review how things worked with Vince. She wasn't even booked for the show tonight, but sooner or later, she would be. Sooner or later, she would be the WWF Women's Champion, and if it was up to her, that day couldn't come soon enough.

She trudged her way into the arena, her curly, brown hair blowing in the breeze. It was her time. After fighting and clawing her way up, she was finally here, and no one could stop her.

Shoving her way through the heavy doors, she looked around, taking it all in. Finally.

"Hey, kid, you can't be in here."

Kelly turned to see a bulky security guard cautiously approaching her. Yeah, like she was a real threat against the Hulk meets Arnold. She sighed, preparing herself to explain the first of what would certainly be many explanations about who exactly she was, and what exactly she was doing in a WWF arena.

"It's okay, Bill. She's talent."

Kelly and Bill turn in unison to see who this mystery speaker granting some girl off the streets permission to enter the famed Raw arena was. The aged face, white hair, and kind expression of legend Pat Patterson smiled back. Kelly's mouth turned upward in a smile of her own.

Pat had been present when Vince had signed her, and they'd gotten along wonderfully. She had so much respect for him, and considered it an honor to even be in the

same room as the man.

Bill nodded his head stiffly and stepped back and Pat guided Kelly along the corrider. "We're really excited to have you here, Ms. Saturn. We've heard great things about you, and your highlight package was very impressive," Pat was telling her. She smiled in gratitude, but her attention was elsewhere.

They'd made it back to the main corriders, and Kelly was surprised to see the amount of wrestlers at the arena this early. She saw the Brooklyn Brawler lacing his boots. And there was Chris "Skip" Candido with his girlfriend, Tammy "Sunny" Sytch.

Kelly's nose wrinkled. She hoped Vince and the Federation wouldn't give her a ridiculous name like that. She snapped out of it as Pat apparently asked her a question.

"Huh?" she stuttered, her heart sinking as she saw Pat frown. Great. Her first day in the World Wrestling Federation and she'd already zoned out on Pat Patterson and made him frown.

Pat was about to repeat himself when the locker room doors flung open, and Shawn Michaels, one of the company's top stars bursts out. Kelly blinked. She'd watched basically every WWF event since she was 7, so she'd obviously seen HBK before, but she was not prepared for this. His face, scowl and all, was incredibly handsome. His hair was probably better than hers, and his attitude screamed confidence. She looked  
away quickly, pulling herself together. He's just a man. How hard could he be to resist?

You'd be surprised.

To her surprise, Shawn marched right over to her. No, not her-to Pat. He was looked Pat Patterson square in the face, and he wasn't even batting an eyelash.

"I'm tired of this, Pat. These imbeciles in the back don't know their right foot from their left. I'm sick and tired of them running to the dirt sheets, trying to put themselves over. None of them know shit! I'm tired of Bret's wolfpack, and I'm tired of the so-called tradionalists, and I'm tired of the allienation..."

Pat listened calmly to Shawn's rant as if he'd heard it all before. To her disbelief, Shawn never once acknowledged her presence. She felt her cheeks flush in humiliation. Then, praise the Lord, at the last second, those  
gorgeous eyes flitted to hers. Her insides screamed. She was looking Shawn Michaels dead in his eyes. And, even better, she was holding his gaze!

"Who are you?" Shawn asked after a moment of the staredown.

Kelly told him her name. And then she lunged into his arms and passionately kissed him. And then she snapped back to reality.

"I-I'm Kelly. I'm starting today. Well, I'm not actually on the card, so I guess I haven't really started yet, but today is my first official day in the company, and-"

She was rambling. Her words died in her mouth, and she looked at the ground, mortified. Damn it, Kelly, she cursed herself. Why was she always such a dim lightbulb? One of the biggest stars in the company she'd dreamed about being a part of for years, not to mention, the freaking Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels, and she couldn't even allow herself a breath in between words. She should just leave now. She should just turn around and walk out of Shawn Michaels' life forever.

He was laughing. Oh, dear God, he was laughing.

Kelly's heart jumped as Shawn laid a hand on her arm. "Relax. It's alright," Shawn said reassuringly. "We all get nervous, on our first night." And then he winked at her.

And then he turned and strutted away.

Kelly blinked. Whoa. It was like someone had just pulled the veil from over her head. She could think clearly again. And clearly thinking, she would run herself over with a car right now, if she could. Pat, bless his heart, was placing a hand on her back, leading her away from the wrestlers, towards the back, to Vince's office. He was explaining something about the business to her, and she knew that she should probably listen, but all she could  
think about was Shawn Michaels.

She was a fool, an absolute fool, and she was screwed.

Because she knew she hadn't had her last encounter with the Heartbreak Kid.


	2. Chapter 2

Heartbreaker  
Winter 1996  
CHAPTER TWO:

Kelly walked back through the gorilla position, a huge, "I just killled it out there," smile on her face. She'd just had the most badass match she'd had in her month and a half of being in the World Wrestling Federation. She'd beaten Sable, one-two-three, clean in the middle of the ring. She slapped the hands and accepted the congratulations of all those in the area, while her mind, as usual, drifted toward Shawn.

She wondered if he'd seen her match. She wondered if he'd seen all of her matches. On her first day in the WWF, they'd had the smallest of small encounters, and she hadn't stop thinking about him since. Unfortuantely, it seemed he'd forgotten about her entirely. They hadn't so much as waved at each other since that first day.

And it was killing her.

"Great match, kid!"

"You really just stole the show, Kelly!"

"You're going places!"

Kelly nodded and thanked them all, making her way to the lockeroom. She hoped they were right. She hoped that she truely was going places. After all, these were the same people who had predicted that Shawn Michaels would go places.

Ugh. There she went again.

Why couldn't she just forget about him, already?

She entered the women's locker room. The girls smiled and gave her congratulations. She smiled and thanked them. They chatted and gossiped. She thought about Shawn.

Suddenly, her ears picked up something. She frowned, leaning towards the outside wall. She heard... giggling? And... Shawn's voice! Her heartbeat picked up. And then it sank. Because the next voice she heard was Tammy Sytch's, who went by "Sunny".

Who had been dating fellow wrestler, Chris Candido for a while now.

And who had a reputation as the locker room, well, slut.

And Shawn wasn't exactly known as a saint.

Her heart pounding, she tried to talk herself out of it. She told herself that it was ridiculous, that nothing could be going on. Regardless of what her brain told her, her heart took control and led her feet out into the hallway. She pushed open the door with so much force that it banged on the wall.

"Oops," she muttered, and then turned and stopped dead in her tracks. There was Sunny and Shawn, pushed up against the wall in a suggestive position. She knew they'd been, at least, kissing, and her heart sank. Meanwhile, they were staring at her. Shawn didn't even bother to back away from Sunny. His eyes seemed fixed on Kelly's.

Kelly's mouth opened and closed like a fish's. "Um... sorry. I, I didn't realize..." Her cheeks blushed red and she turned hastily, mumbling another apology, and hurried away from the two. She felt the stinging in her throat and knew that she was about to cry. Shocked, she cursed herself. Was she really going to cry over this? After all, she and Shawn had never even had a real conversation.

Suddenly, a hand was resting on her back. She stopped walking, turning to see Shawn's handsome face peering into hers.

Her mind raced. What was she supposed to do? What did he want? What was she supposed to say?

Simple, said the part of her brain that got foggy every time she looked into or thought about those beautiful eyes. And, apparently, that part of her brain was telling her to not acknowledge Shawn at all, and to turn on her heel and walk away from him. Genius!

Shawn caught up, to her suprirse. "Hey," he said, frowning. "Kelly, right?"

Kelly nodded stiffly, not looking at him. What was wrong with her?

"Look, I'm sorry about what you saw back there. It was nothing really, just flirting. It doesn't mean anything," Shawn said, watching her carefully, gauging her reaction.

Why was he reassuring her? Unless... he had been feeling the same way about her! Her heart soared. And then she realized, he was probably just covering his tracks, making sure that she didn't let it slip to anybody. After all, Sunny was with Chris "Skip" Candido. Her heart sank again.

"It's fine. I'll keep your secret," she said bitterly, before she could stop herself.

He was keeping pace with her easily, to her great frusteration.

"Hey, that's not why I was telling you. None of the boys like me anyway, why would I care if someone found out? I just wanted to let you know..."

"What? That you're a whore just like your little girlfriend?" Kelly said. Oh my God. Had she really just SAID that? Oh my God!

Shawn stopped walking now. So did she. He looked mad. Uh-oh, he looked mad.

"Forget it," Shawn said after a moment, turning and stalking off.

Kelly cursed under her breath. Wow, Kel, she told herself. Your charisma is just through the roof today.

She walked off, shaking her head. She was screwed. Just in a different way this time.

The Next Day...

Walking into the building, Kelly could tell something was up. Agents were eyeing her. The atmosphere just felt off. And more importantly, she didn't see Shawn anywhere. Goosebumps rose on her skin. Had something happened? Was Shawn okay? Why wasn't he around?

"Kelly!" Pat was making his way over to her.

Kelly turned to him, relieved. "Pat!"

"Vince needs to see you in his office. Now."

She blinked. Pat hadn't even given her a chance to get a second word out. And now he was turning, presumeably leading the way to Vince's office. Her heart pounded as she followed him down the hallways. Was she in trouble? Had Shawn said something?

As she approached Vince's office, Pat opened the door, and nodded, giving her to go-ahead. She took a deep breath, preparing herself.

And then she entered.


	3. Chapter 3

Heartbreaker  
Winter of 1996  
CHAPTER THREE:

Kelly blinked.

The inside of Vince's office was a confusing scene.

Vince sat at his desk, looking up as she entered. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a mid-carder and good friend of HBK was standing to the side, along with several agents. Legend Brisco brothers stood to Vince's side. And, none other than the Heartbreak Kid himself was sitting in one of the two chairs opposite of Vince's desk.

Kelly's heart raced. Uh-oh. Shawn had complained to Vince, she just knew it. She was going to be fired. She felt crushed. Her dream was about to come to an end. She opened her mouth, prepared to plead her case to Vince, but before she could get a word out, the owner of the WWF smiled at her.

"Ah! Kelly!" Vince boomed. "Great! Have a seat, we'll get started."

Kelly slowly eased herself into the plush chair, confused. She glanced to her side at Shawn for some clarity. He was looking back at her, and held her gaze for a moment, before turning to look at Vince again.

Okay. So he was still mad.

"We're putting you in a storyline."

Kelly stared at Vince, shocked. Since she'd entered the WWF a few months back, she'd only been floundering, proving to the fans and the office of her wrestling ability, but she hadn't had a chance to prove her interview and promo skills, or been involved in any storylines.

"We think you're ready," Vince continued, as she listened intently. "You'll be in a bit of a romantic storyline. You'll serve as a valet some of the time, and wrestler some of the time. You'll be a heel. We're looking forward to seeing how you'll play the character."

Kelly nodded, getting excited. She'd always figured she'd be a heel! And at this point, she'd take any storyline! She just hoped that they'd pair her with someone with some taste, if it was going to be romantic. Still, none of this explained why Shawn was here, too. Unless...

Oh.

My.

God.

"We're putting you with Shawn."

Vince's words sunk in a second after she'd figured it out on her own. She was going to have a romantic storyline with Shawn effing Michaels?

A million thoughts raced across her mind, one of which being, how did Shawn feel about this? She glanced over at him nervously. He was chewing on his gum, appearing bored, having obviously already been informed of this storyline. He glanced over at her. Something flashed across her eyes, and with a sense of satisfaction, she realized he wasn't as bored as he appeared.

Vince explained the rest of the storyline, how they'd start next week at Raw, and how Kelly would come to the ring with Shawn and they'd cut a promo together, talking about how they were the new "power couple" in the WWF and that nobody could touch them. The storyline all together sounded like it would be fun. The problem was, Shawn and Kelly would have to work together to write storylines and, generally, get along.

Kelly sighed. She didn't want to get along with Shawn. If she was getting along with him, not to mention in a romantic storyline with him, then odds were, she'd develop feelings for him. REAL feelings, not just some dumb, schoolgirl crush. But business was business, and that was what Vince wanted.

Kelly nodded. "Okay, Vince. Sounds good."

"Great!" Vince beamed. "You two ride together to the show on Monday, okay? I want just the two of you in the car, so that you can get the creative juices flowing and come up with some good stuff for your promo."

"I ride with the Kliq," Shawn said, bottom line.

Kelly looked at him. Finally, he was speaking up. Those were the first words he'd said the entire time she'd been in Vince's office.

Even she knew what he meant when he said the Kliq-he was referring to his bestfriends, the wolf pack, the only ones in the locker room on Shawn's side; "Hunter Hearst Helmsley" Paul Levesque, "Diesel" Kevin Nash, "Razor Ramon" Scott Hall, and "1-2-3 Kid" Sean Waltman.

Shawn, HHH, Nash, Hall, and Kid had a reputation for being the bad boys, essentially, of the WWF. They said and did what they wanted, when they wanted, and didn't care what anyone thought of them.

Clearly, not even the boss.

"You're riding with Kelly from now on, Shawn," Vince said, taking a deep breath.

That's when Shawn launched into a tirade, directed toward Vince. Kelly sat back in awe. He was talking to Vince McMahon like this? THE Vince McMahon! Imagine!

By the time they walked out of Vince's office, the plan was this; next week, Shawn and the Kliq would pick up Kelly and ride to Chicago for Raw. On the way to the show, Shawn and Kelly, with the help of "geniuses" the Kliq, would write their promo for the night.

Kelly was impressed, quite frankly.

Shawn looked at her as they stood outside Vince's office for a few careful moments. Then he extended a hand, and said, "See ya next week."

Kelly shook his hand. What else was she supposed to do?

And then she stood back and watched as Shawn and Hunter took off in their own direction.

Her. Shawn. A romantic storyline.

Yep.

Still screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

Heartbreaker  
Winter of 1996  
CHAPTER FOUR:

One week later...

Kelly peered out her window. The car was pulling up in front of her house. She tried to control her breathing. It was definitely no big deal. Except... it kind of was.

She opened her front door, welcoming in the rush of cold air. It was time. There was no more delaying. Kevin Nash, who was in the driver's seat had already honked the horn once, and she had a feeling that the Kliq weren't the type of guys to wait around for anyone for too long.

She walked down the sidewalk carefully. She would die if she slipped and fell on her butt in front of the guys.

Okay, Kelly, she told herself. Now you're just worrying about any little thing.

She opened the car door, crawling in. It was a big Jeep, suitable to fit all of them. Shawn was a few seats away from her, and she frowned. Had he done that on purpose?

They were all staring at her.

"Um, hello?" she said nervously.

Before she knew it, Kevin had tossed a beer into her hands, Kid was not-so-subtly checking her out, Hunter and Scott were re-absorbed in their conversation, and Shawn had gone back to ignoring her.

Well, this should be fun.

At the arena...

Kelly basically sprinted through the heavy doors of the Raw arena. Her rushed entrance seemed to surprise Bret Hart, Pat Patterson, and Vince, who were all standing near the entrance. She looked around, and cleared her throat, embarrassed.

Excuse her if she'd got gotten her first escape from the most hellacious ride of her life.

Luckily, she and Shawn had come up with some great ideas, surprisingly, with the help of the Kliq. Those guys were actually pretty smart, if you could get them to focus. You know, despite the fact that they live and breathe illegal activity and alcohol. Aye. She wouldn't be surprised if she got booked just for being within 50 feet of them.

The group entered right behind her, topped off by Shawn in the lead. After seeing who followed her in, Bret, Pat, and Vince seemed to understand why she'd been in such a hurry to get inside, where it was safe. Shawn started toward Vince, seemingly not caring that he was already in a conversation. Good ole' Shawn.

"We came up with some stuff, Vince. But we decided to shoot with the promo for tonight," Shawn said.

Vince frowned. "Shawn, are you sure you don't want to script it? Tonight will be your first impression, you have to get over. And you know you go a little overboard with shoots..."

Shawn cut Vince off. "Shoots are the best. If the fans don't buy it, we'll never get over. We're shooting it, Vince."

And then he walked off.

Kelly shook her head in disbelief. Good thing Shawn had gotten to Vince before her. The Kliq were already following Shawn to the back, and she figured she should, too. She hurried after them.

She caught up with Shawn in the front of the group, and opened her mouth to ask him again if he was sure about all of this. But, she didn't get the chance.

Rounding a corner, Sunny and Shawn collided. Kelly stopped short as she glared at the pretty blonde. Oh, well this should be interesting.

Sunny started of giggling like a school girl as Shawn's arms incircled her to keep her from falling. Then she noticed Kelly. Her smile faltered.

"What are you doing with her?" she deadpanned, not taking her eyes off Kelly, and obviously not caring if anyone could detect the blatantly obvious jealousy in her voice.

Wait. Jealousy? Kelly's heart soared. She had to be jealous for a reason, right?

"We have a storyline," Kelly cut in, trying to hide how smug she was. "I'm his new valet and girlfriend."

"In the storyline," Sunny added, narrowing her eyes at Kelly, saying the words almost as if she was checking the truth behind them.

Kelly smiled charmingly, deciding to let Shawn take this one.

"Not just in the storyline."

Wait, WHAT? Kelly stared at Shawn in disbelief. What was he talking about?

Sunny's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

Shawn smirked at her, taking an extremely confused Kelly's hand and leading her around the corner. Sunny stared after them.

"Shawn! Shawn!" she called after him, obviously as shocked as Kelly was.

When they rounded the corner, Shawn turned Kelly against the wall and looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry," he started defensively, as if he expected her to tear into him for lying about them being an item.

"I had to tell her that," Shawn said, looking guiltily at the ground. "I feel bad about this whole thing. Her and Chris... I can't do it anymore. But she doesn't want to stop. I didn't know how else to get her off my back. I had to tell her we were a couple, now. Maybe that'll knock her." Shawn was frowning, looking genuinely guilty.

"It's okay," Kelly managed to croak out. She cleared her throat and tried again. "It's fine. I mean, you're doing the right thing. Ending it with her."

Shawn smiled at her, freezing her heart momentarily. "Thanks." He turned to walk away, but then turned back and looked at her again. "And hey," he said. Her heart raced in her chest, threatening to jump out. "I really had fun with you, riding with us. Next week, then?"

Kelly nodded, numbly. And then realized what she'd just agreed to-another ride to the show with the Kliq. She opened her mouth to tell him that she forgot, she'd already promised someone else she'd ride with them, but he was already gone. She sighed.

At least she'd get to ride with Shawn.

But, beneath the nerves and the subsided confusion, and then "oh, crap" feeling, she felt something else.

Disappointment.

Because, when Shawn had taken her hand, just for a moment, it had seemed like her hand was made to fit his perfectly.

Later that night...

Shawn and Kelly had cut the promo that night, introducing themselves as the new power couple of the WWF. Their chemistry had flared in the ring and by the time they left, they had some real heel heat. Walking through gorilla, Pat gave them a thumbs up and complimented them on how well they worked off of each other on the mic.

Shawn high-fived her, once they had some privacy walking back to the locker room. He was obviously happy with the result of their very first promo as a team. And she couldn't disagree-they'd been electric.

"That was great," Shawn said with a big smile, sitting on the cooler in the back.

Kelly climbed up next to him, nodding her head in agreement.

"You were hilarious out there," Shawn went on.

Kelly laughed. "Thanks! We definitely got some good heat."

"Why don't just you and I ride to the show next week?" Shawn asked, suddenly. "It'll give us more of a chance to work on more matieral."

Kelly nodded slowly, smiling as the words sank in.

Shawn smiled, hopping off the cooler and heading towards the men's locker room. "See you then, then."

"See you," Kelly said, a big smile on her face as Shawn closed himself in the locker room.

She felt like screaming like a little girl. Then she reminded herself, maybe it didn't mean anything. Maybe Shawn was just being friendly.

But then again, nobdoy ever testified that Shawn was the friendliest guy in the world.

She took a deep breath.

She was headed straight past "screwed" and right into, "shot to hell."


End file.
